Off-Switch for the Ego?

In the search for enlightenment, it seems the challenge lies not in attaining something new, but in releasing that which blocks us from fully experiencing our innate consciousness. That blocking force has been called many things: the inner critic, voice in the head, monkey mind, doppelganger, evil twin, mental noise, and so on. Eckharte Tolle, who is helping millions shift their consciousness through his online class with Oprah, calls it the ego.

The ego is difficult to release mainly because we aren't aware of it as separate from our true selves. We think it is simply who we are. Unless we are graced with a momentary experience of something different, of something other than ego running the show, we find it nearly impossible to conceptualize anything else.

Spiritual masters through the ages have taught that meditation is one way to bypass the ego and catch a glimpse of the vastness of our true nature. That's all well and good if you can keep with it long enough for the ego to give you a break and perhaps allow a tiny pause, here and there, in the endless stream of mind-chatter. The hope is that with dedicated practice, these pauses become more frequent, and our familiarity with the formless field of consciousness grows stronger.

So you can practice and practice, or ... if you're lucky enough to have a blood clot in just the right spot of your brain, you can experience it in one day.

In the video below, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor describes the workings of her near fatal stroke in 1996. It is a fascinating account! As Jill states, "How often does a brain researcher get to witness such an event from the inside out?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU&feature=user

This isn't just another near-death experience. It is an actual experience of what it is like to be without the part of the brain that tells us we're separate from all the other energy of the universe. The part of the brain governing "the ego" essentially got switched off. In other words, she was temporarily without that which blocked her from fully experiencing herself as pure, conscious energy. She was enlightened.

The implications are mind-blowing. Pun intended. Happy contemplating.